THE Greater Village area of south Belfast is to officially get £100million regeneration money, it was announced last week
It's official - Village gets £100m for new housing
Thursday, May 08, 2008
By Gráinne McWilliams
The Village, one of the most impoverished areas for housing in Northern
Ireland, wasgranted the money by the Department for Social Development (DSD)
after it was declared an "Urban Renewal Area" by the Northern
Ireland Housing Executive.
The move means that over the next 10 years some 580 unfit houses will be
demolished and replaced with around 270 new-build homes. The remaining 730
houses will be "significantly improved".
The streets included in the Urban Renewal Area are those bounded by the
Donegall Road, Glenmachan Street, Frenchpark Street and Donegall Avenue, and
the area around Monarch Street, Monarch Parade and Lower Rockview Street to
the north side of the Donegall Road.
Speaking about the news, Paddy McIntyre of the Housing Executive said that
when surveying the Village, they found that "one in three homes were
unfit, one in five homes were vacant as well as very high levels of disrepair
".
"The vast majority of houses are over 100-years-old and fell short of
modern standards," said Mr McIntyre.
"Over the forthcoming weeks, the Housing Executive will be visiting
residents in the area to establish their housing needs and preferences. We
will also initiate the formal procedures of vesting housing in the worst
affected streets.
"We will continue to work with local residents, landlords and
community groups and this co-operation will provide the foundation for the
new regenerated Village."
DSD Minister Margaret Ritchie said she "welcomed the formal go-ahead
from the Housing Executive".
"I am delighted that we have now reached this important milestone and
the long awaited regeneration can now proceed," said Ms Ritchie.
Paula Bradshaw, director of the Greater Village Regeneration Trust (GVRT),
said the local community was "definitely relieved" that the
Housing Executive had finally declared the Village an urban renewal area.
"The GVRT will be working closely with the local residents to ensure
they are both informed and involved at every stage of this process,"
added Ms Bradshaw.
